Jharkhand Liquor Scam: ED Raids Amid Assembly Elections, Searches at IAS and Officials' Premises
The enforcement directorate on Tuesday conducted raids on a string of phone tapping on a number of known dignitaries among them one IAS officer, Vinay Kumar Choubey, an assistant, and joint secretary in the Excise Department, Jharkhand Gajendra Singh.
Oct 29, 2024, 11:18 IST
The enforcement directorate on Tuesday conducted raids on a string of phone tapping on a number of known dignitaries among them one IAS officer, Vinay Kumar Choubey, an assistant, and joint secretary in the Excise Department, Jharkhand Gajendra Singh. The raids were staged at multiple locations around the city of Ranchi among associated relatives of the officials, as well. The accused have successfully manipulated the excise policy of Jharkhand and enabled a liquor syndicate to seize its most prized liquor tenders and to sell country liquor by printing their own, counterfeiting the liquor with fake holograms as it evaded the accounting and financial rules.
The trail of the investigation dates back to the Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam 2019-2022
The ED is currently probing the liquor scam in Chhattisgarh between 2019 and 2022 as part of a larger investigation. It has been alleged that during this period, an illegal syndicate of IAS officers, senior officials from the Excise Department, and business entities was operational. According to reports, during the previous Bhupesh Baghel government, the accused had sold liquor with forged holograms through government liquor shops, causing a significant revenue loss to the state.
Filed by Economic Offences Wing
The Economic Offences Wing, Raipur, filed a case in the multi-crore liquor scam by recording statements of Vikas Singh, a resident of Ranchi. The preliminary investigation had said that a network of officers and business leaders worked in the scam, thereby making it a syndicate operation in liquor sales. It is alleged that at that time, when Bhupesh Baghel was the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, this scam was under the Congress party.
Jharkhand Assembly Elections.
These raids are coming at a very crucial time since Jharkhand is gearing up for its next assembly elections. It has planned to hold the voting in two phases; the first one would be on November 13 and the second one on November 20. The counting is scheduled for November 23. Already, political parties are trying to bolster their stands as much as possible to take a strong stance during elections.
The actions of ED have increased the intensity of scrutiny in the Jharkhand political and administrative landscape and have escalated tensions during the existing process of election preparation.
The trail of the investigation dates back to the Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam 2019-2022
The ED is currently probing the liquor scam in Chhattisgarh between 2019 and 2022 as part of a larger investigation. It has been alleged that during this period, an illegal syndicate of IAS officers, senior officials from the Excise Department, and business entities was operational. According to reports, during the previous Bhupesh Baghel government, the accused had sold liquor with forged holograms through government liquor shops, causing a significant revenue loss to the state.
Filed by Economic Offences Wing
The Economic Offences Wing, Raipur, filed a case in the multi-crore liquor scam by recording statements of Vikas Singh, a resident of Ranchi. The preliminary investigation had said that a network of officers and business leaders worked in the scam, thereby making it a syndicate operation in liquor sales. It is alleged that at that time, when Bhupesh Baghel was the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, this scam was under the Congress party.
Jharkhand Assembly Elections.
These raids are coming at a very crucial time since Jharkhand is gearing up for its next assembly elections. It has planned to hold the voting in two phases; the first one would be on November 13 and the second one on November 20. The counting is scheduled for November 23. Already, political parties are trying to bolster their stands as much as possible to take a strong stance during elections.
The actions of ED have increased the intensity of scrutiny in the Jharkhand political and administrative landscape and have escalated tensions during the existing process of election preparation.